Recipe: Veggie Quesadillas

Last night I made quesadillas.  For the first time.  You know, quesadillas!  No, I didn’t really know what they were either.  I have made and enjoyed fajitas for years, but, inspired by a blog I read yesterday, I decided to give these little babies a go.  Turns out they are super delicious, super easy and you can use up all your veggies and put whatever you like in them.  That’s right, you can make butternut squash and kidney bean quesadillas, mixed vegetable quesadillas, mock chicken and avocado quesadillas…  just put whatever you fancy in them!  I love a recipe that can be versatile as well as healthy and delicious.  And filling.  Boy a whole one was too much – I saved a slice (a quarter) for lunch today – tasted even better re-warmed!  You can make these clean by leaving out the cheese if you like, but I thought the cheese was well worth adding.

I used:

• Veggies – butternut squash, red pepper, mushrooms, onions, sweetcorn, avocado
• A few kidney beans/butter beans and pumpkin seeds
• Some chopped tomatoes (1/2 a tin) or pasta sauce
• Seasoning – I used some paprika and bbq seasoning
• 2 wholewheat wraps (per quesadilla)
• Grated cheddar (optional – I used small handful)

To make:

1.  Saute/boil/fry veggies (however you like to do them) then stir in the chopped tomatoes or pasta sauce, seasoning and beans.  Mash any chunky veg (ie squash) a little if desired.  Set aside.
2. Use some cooking spray or oil and get a frying pan medium/hot.  Fry one of your tortilla wraps for 3-4 minutes on one side only, until browned and starting to crisp up.  Remove.
3. Using a bit more spray/oil, repeat with the second wrap.  While it’s heating, put your grated cheese on top (if using), then your veggie mixture, then your other wrap (cooked side up).  Squash down a bit and leave for 3-4 minutes again.
4. Remove carefully from the pan onto the plate.  Slice into 4 wedges and top with chunks of avocado and pumpkin seeds (alternatively, you can stir these into your veggie mixture at the end of step 1).

I served mine with some light crème fraiche (sour cream would also work).

Positive food blogging

Smashed avocado and pumpkin seed toasted thins with salad. Nourishing, delicious fuel for my body! 🙂

Morning all. I’ve decided I need to be more positive about food, and I want my blog to reflect this.  I think that lately I have blogged a lot about my daily struggles/victories with eating, and it all makes me feel quite insecure.  For example, the other day I blogged about how well I was doing, then afterwards got all insecure that I’d been over-confident and went home and snacked on crap all night.  It isn’t working for me, and while this is a good place to get out what’s going on in my head when I feel the need, I think I just need to take a step back, relax and not necessarily detail every up-day and down-day.  I think in a way, it “feeds” the slight issues I have with food (I’ve never gone so far as to say I have an ED, although I have definitely flirted with one).  It’s a lifetime game, this healthy eating thing, and I think if I were to shift my focus towards being enthusiastic and excited about all the fantastic healthy foods I love, I might feel a lot happier and more secure about food.  🙂

Above is my delicious lunch from yesterday – half an avocado and pumpkin seeds on a toasted sandwich thin with a rocket & berry salad.  It was just heavenly.   I went for a 10 mile run (absolute killer!), so this was great fuel.

Have you got any similar lunch ideas?

Happy Wednesday 🙂

Friday!

I need to tell you about my amazing run last night!  I was seriously tired after a really busy, hot day in my ice cream shop, and a big part of me just wanted to lay on the sofa and eat/rest.  But I had a spark in me to get out there, so I grasped that feeling and went for it.  I did my fastest ever run – 6 miles at 6:54 per mile!  Really pushed myself hard – it was hot, I wanted to stop and collapse half way, but I fought hard and just felt on such a high afterwards as the sweat poured off my face and I saw my time! I tell you, the victory shower you have after a good run is like no other 🙂

I have work all weekend (including nights in restaurant) which is a bit depressing but will finish on Sunday at 2pm, then me & S will spend the rest of the day drinking Prosecco, eating a take-away and watching the tennis (Wimbledon men’s final).  Hurry up Sunday afternoon!

Food diary:

Breakfast – an incredible combination of uncooked oats (20g), rice crispies (10g), 1 tbsp. coconut vegan yogurt, 1 tsp peanut butter, 1/2 small banana, sprinkle of stevia and some unsweetened almond milk – so yummy! 200 cals

Lunch – bagel (not skinny!) with reduced fat hummus, and light cheese slice – 300 cals

Snacks – fruit pot, sugar free jelly – 50 cals

Dinner – veggie fajitas, jacket potato or spaghetti Bolognese – around 550 cals

Total 1100.

Food, mood etc Thursday and thoughts on ordering dinner at the pub

Here we are, Thursday.  Last night my boyfriend and I drove out to Compton (a local surf spot) after work – he likes to practise surfing and I don’t mind going along for the ride, especially when the weather is so good.  I had been for my 11 mile run in the sun earlier in the day and hadn’t eaten a lot, so by 8pm when he finished I was ravenous and feeling faint – we decided to treat ourselves and get some food in a nearby pub.  I felt indecisive about what to order – do you order what you most fancy but know you will gorge on? If you order the healthier option will you feel under-whelmed and want to binge later?  If you order something naughty will you regret it?  Anyway, I felt good and mindful and went for a healthy-ish option (not like a starter or anything – I was ravenous!) of a mixed bean quesadilla with wild rice, I’m pleased to say it was absolutely delicious and far more nutritious than my back up choice of macaroni cheese and garlic bread.  Not to say that sometimes you can’t just splurge and have something naughty – but it is good to be mindful, and know that you don’t always have to have the naughtiest thing on the menu to feel like you’ve treated yourself.  We did share a peanut butter and chocolate brownie for dessert which was indescribably good, I decided not to feel guilty – after all I had resisted ordering one all to myself, and I was mindful and enjoyed every mouthful slowly.  I definitely find it easier to be mindful like this after exercise – when I feel that I’ve been a bit lazy I tend towards being a bit greedy which, of course, only makes it worse.

Todays food:

Breakfast: porridge oats (35g) with sprinkle of rice crispies, half a banana and 2 strawberries – 200 cals

Lunch (below): Sandwich thin with 10g goats cheese, light mayo, beetroot and rocket, with salad bowl of spinach leaves, tomatoes, cucumber, yellow pepper and beetroot – 250 cals

Snacks: fruit pot and sugar free jelly – 70 cals

Dinner: undecided so far!  Usually around 550 cals.

Total = 1070.  Room for some popcorn and a yoghurt for pudding 🙂

Another binge.. but picking myself straight back up

I really want to document this because I seem to be great at giving advice about how not to binge (see my last post!) but then the very same day I decide to hit the chocolate biscuits and fudge between shifts!  I might know all the right things to do but if I’m wanting to sabotage my day and feel like crap then it seems like there’s no stopping me.

I was on my break between my 2 jobs and had just eaten my healthy but substantial and perfectly filling dinner of veggie sausages, mash and beans which I had been looking forward to all afternoon (after having a very healthy day).  I will try to describe what happened.  I finished my dinner and then had the depressing thought that the next thing on the horizon was a busy shift at a restaurant, which I really did not want to go to (only because I felt tired, not because I don’t like the job).  I proceeded to the kitchen, and, desperate to feel a bit happier, I ate a chocolate Club biscuit (130 cals).  This was so enjoyable that I went back and had 2 Oreos.  Then 2 more.  I still felt like I had a pit to fill and by this time my head was diseased with the swarming thoughts of all the food in my kitchen – I shovelled in a small bowl of granola and a few slices of fudge, a spoonful of peanut butter and some popcorn.  By the end of this (about 15 minutes in duration) I felt like absolute shit and didn’t want to go to work even more than before!  And at work I felt really sluggish and crap, like I had this secret and everything felt a bit pointless.  I had to fight hard to be cheerful.

So today I just decided not to worry about it too much – it probably isn’t much worse calorie-wise than eating out in a nice restaurant and enjoying a pudding.  And I had run 5 miles the evening before so maybe my body needed it?  Not that the crap I ate is the ideal go-to for a hungry body.. but hey-ho.  I am generally very good, so shouldn’t over-guilt myself, as it only leads to more bingeing behaviour.  I have slip-ups but if I can keep getting straight back up instead of wallowing, maybe it will become easier.

Friday food, mood, binge urges etc

So I’ve got another busy non-stop work weekend (ice cream shop all day, restaurant shift until midnight) because it’s the prestigious “Round The Island Race” tomorrow, meaning our town is very busy with sailors and visitors.  It’s so important that I keep my diet in check during these busy weekends (I really need to feel good to keep going!)  By the way there’s me in the photo this morning before I started busy day 1 of 3, hello!

I usually find it easy to eat healthy/well during these times (touchwood!) because I’m busy and don’t have the evenings to lay around on the sofa and torture myself with thoughts of what’s in the kitchen.  I find evenings can be the hardest times – hours of laying on the sofa isn’t always the best thing for me! I eat out of boredom, or when I start to feel low – which I sometimes do if there’s nothing on tv and I just lie there, spiralling down, down.  I had the binge urge (wanting to eat crap when I’m not hungry) last night right after I finished my dinner (I know, ridiculous!  Probably the least hungry I’d been all day!) but I know why.  S has gone away for work again and I was looking at 3 hours with no plans, on the sofa, alone. I could feel danger… many a binge has started with “just one biscuit” in an evening when I’m a bit restless.  I wouldn’t mind having just one biscuit but it’s the way my head is, I know it won’t be one biscuit. A panic in my head says “how will I resist all the treats for three hours?” which is just so warped because I’M NOT EVEN HUNGRY! Just take a second to think that through: I’m worried about over-eating but I’m not even hungry.

Last night I made the snap decision to go for a run and I’m so glad I did – I was tired but I felt really good for it – when I got back I was on a high and could lay on the sofa without any thoughts of bingeing – I satisfied my sweet craving with some porridge oats with vegan almond yoghurt, sugar free jam and strawberries/peach and I no longer had any inkling to ruin my good inner feeling by eating crap. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about bingeing it’s this:  when it starts swimming round in your head, combat it by doing something that makes you feel good.  Just get away, go for a run, have a bath, paint your nails, do something.  It will pass but it feeds on you feeling low and is a beast to conquer if you don’t take action.

Incidentally, it’s my cat Miu Miu’s 14th birthday today.  She can sleep all day and leave half her meal untouched!

Right, let’s get down to business. Today I ate:

Breakfast – 35g porridge oats with half an apple, cinnamon and unsweetened almond milk – 200 cals

Lunch – sandwich thin with light cheese slice and light mustard mayo, spinach & beetroot salad, sugar free jelly – 280 cals

Snack – fresh fruit pot (strawberries, peach, blueberries) – 60 cals

Dinner – don’t know yet, maybe veggie sausage, mash, beans – around 500 cals

Total 1040 cals.  Will likely top-up with a snack at midnight as I’m usually ravenous – oats with yoghurt or toast most likely

Thursday food diary… and mission “ween myself off sugar”

I’ve become a bit of a sugar addict lately, my big downfall always seems to be that I crave something sweet and after lots of denying myself anything sweet the craving becomes intense and I end up giving in and eating a chocolate bar or ice cream with a real “blow the healthy eating, I can’t do this” attitude – this then makes me feel really naughty (and keeps the addiction alive).  Cue spiral into over-eating.  This is a pattern I’ve been thinking about.  I’m going to try this new idea: when I’m craving something sweet, I’ll find something “healthy” instead of going completely without/binge-eating chocolate.  I don’t have to have *nothing*.  Just now I was really wanting something sweet, and I thought “what the hell” and reached for a chocolate bar.  But I knew I’d feel like crap afterwards, and probably want more straight afterwards, since that usually happens!  Sugar is a drug, it’s addictive, and when I haven’t had it in a while I stop craving it!  So no more nasty processed sugar for a bit.  Instead I had some almond yoghurt on porridge oats with sugar free jam, strawberries, stevia and unsweetened almond milk.  It totally satisfied the sweet craving and I don’t feel like I was naughty!  Similarly, if I’m hungry, I won’t go without.  It’s not just about depriving.  It’s this mindful eating thing isn’t it.  I’ve just got to be honest about whether I’m really hungry, or bored. And if I am hungry, choose things I don’t need to feel ashamed about.

Today I ate:

Breakfast – 1 shredded wheat, unsweetened almond milk, strawberries, 1/2 banana – 130 cals 

Lunch – Sandwich thin with 1 egg & big spinach/beetroot salad, sugar free jelly, fresh fruit pot – 300 cals

Dinner – vegetable bake with parsnip mash and savoy cabbage – 450 cals

Snacks – porridge oats with yoghurt, SF jam, unsweetened milk, stevia, strawberry & peach – 150 cals

Total = 1030 cals

I also went for a 5 mile run after my dinner, so an excellent day today (about time, the last 4 days have been crap!)

🙂

What I Ate Wednesday

Breakfast – small bowl of overnight oats (2 spoons) with low fat natural yoghurt and strawberries – 150 cals

Lunch – porridge with half a banana and tsp natural peanut butter (I know, porridge again – had no appetite after having a row with my boyfriend, didn’t fancy anything proper) and bowl of fresh fruit – 320 cals

Afternoon snacks – bbq rice cake and Go Ahead fruit bar – 130 cals

Dinner plan: veggie burger in low calorie sandwich thin with corn on the cob and salad – around 500 cals

Total: 1100 cals

Wednesday weigh-in, food, mood etc

Weigh-in: 7st 13.5 (111.5lb)

Last weigh in I was 1lb lighter, and I hoping to lose again after a great start to the week, but then I had a poor 3 days where I slipped, spiralled, and stopped worrying about what I was eating.  That in mind, gaining 1lb isn’t too awful, and I’m glad to have stayed under 8 stone.  Also, I ran 6 miles last night and it totally re-set me – no urge to over-eat today. 🙂

I had a row with my boyfriend which really sucks because he goes away again tomorrow.  I might do another post on this tomorrow if I think it will help to go into it.  I don’t know.  I seem to have lost my appetite instead of hitting the snacks for comfort so at least that’s something.

Thursday food, mood and thoughts on working treats into my diet

So last night I forced myself to relax and watch a film (I’ve been a touch jittery this last week because S is away) and I also made myself enjoy an evening treat since my daily calories were quite low… I know it sounds stupid but I’ve been finding it a bit difficult – worrying that I will feel really bloated and guilty and that this in turn would lead to lots more thinking about treats/eating/spiral out of control etc. But it didn’t!  I warmed up a little cupcake I made months ago (from the freezer) and had it with a scoop of salty caramel ice cream from my ice cream parlour and gosh, it was divine.  I was in a happy place.  Which was really what I needed because I’d been eating fairly little for a while and feeling a bit anxious about the way I was going (like, it’s clearly not sustainable if I have to be so strict and can’t cope with working the odd treat in).  I didn’t want to binge after I ate it – I just felt like I’d been kind to myself and that was nice. I felt happily full and content.  And in fact I woke up full of beans and went for a run – nearly 6 miles! – which I doubt I would have done otherwise.

On a separate note, my dangerously talented cake-maker dad just stopped by my ice cream shop and gave me a bowl of peanut butter pretzel mix topped with melted chocolate (mix overflow from one of his cakes!!!) and a slice of blueberry and lemon drizzle cake – I really won’t have to worry about being short on treats tonight!  Christ!

Todays food:

Breakfast – I was naughty and skipped breakfast because I was in a rush getting ready for work and all sweaty after my run.  Terrible I know (but for me, it doesn’t lead to over-eating). 0 cals

Lunch – wholemeal pitta with avocado, rocket, beetroot, mustard, tomatoes and a slice of light cheese. Sugar free jelly.  220 cals

Snacks – bowl of fresh pineapple, strawberry, banana and peach. 80 cals

Dinner – who knows!  It could be anything.  Around 550 cals

Total: 850 cals.  Totally not enough.  Bring on my dad’s cakes!